BASF spotlights HMOs for personalized functional foods and supplement applications

20 Apr 2020 --- Within the foods and supplements space, human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are showing great potential in personalized solutions for all ages. Speaking to NutritionInsight, Stefan Rüdenauer, Global Director of Human Nutrition Research and Development at BASF, says that this area presents significant opportunities for the company. This is due to a healthy gut microbiome’s link to overall physical and mental health, which is increasingly highlighted by science. “HMOs are one approach to answer the increasing demand to support beneficial bacteria in a tailored way,” Rüdenauer notes.

“The number of studies in the area is growing rapidly. However, for now, it is hard to say how consumer products will develop as a result of these studies. Various industries will be involved in developing customized solutions, which could be used in applications including food and health supplements, live bacteria, medical food and even fecal transplantation,” he stresses.

The company has successfully achieved the complete in-house development of 2’-Fucosyllactose (2’-FL). This involves downstream processing using a specifically stable HMO fermentation strain designed for large-scale production of a high-quality product.

With the launch of patent-protected PREBILAC 2’-FL for broad use beyond infant nutrition in dietary supplements, functional nutrition and medical food, BASF is working with customers to develop consumer health solutions to improve gut health globally, across the various stages of life.

Through collaborations with academia and global thought leaders in HMO research, the company says it is “committed to driving the scientific basis and unlocking new benefits in the field of HMOs.” 

2’-FL: Not just for babies
Unlike other generally known prebiotics, HMOs have been specifically “designed” for human consumption, says Rüdenauer. As their name suggests, they are found primarily in breast milk, with many companies attempting to replicate them for years now. 

BASF has launched PREBILAC 2’-FL for broad use beyond infant nutrition in dietary supplements, functional nutrition and medical food.Rüdenauer goes on to say that HMOs have long been known to foster the development of a healthy microbiota in infants. Recent studies have shown that 2’-FL, the most prevalent HMO in most mothers, can selectively stimulate bifidobacteria not only in infants, but also in adults. 

“They are distinct in their molecular structure and composition – a major differentiator to prebiotics from other sources,” he details.

Bifidobacteria are recognized as beneficial bacteria not only during infancy, but throughout human life: they provide protective elements by lowering inflammation, enhancing gut barrier function and providing fuel for intestinal cells via generating short chain fatty acids. 

Various gastrointestinal diseases have been associated with lower levels of bifidobacteria like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or celiac disease. “In healthy adults, supplementation of 2’-FL was found to shift the gastrointestinal microbiota and to increase the abundance of bifidobacteria, thus opening up a viable strategy to counteract dysbiosis related with low bifidobacteria levels,” asserts Rüdenauer. 

In addition to indirect effects via synergies with probiotics, 2’-FL can exert direct effects in the human intestine, he adds. Due to the unique molecular structure, it can mimic glycans expressed on human epithelial cells. This is the basis for inhibiting pathogen adhesion and for directly interacting with cell surfaces – an important add-on to the prebiotic function.

For example, he says, campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of gastrointestinal infections and diarrhea and a few years ago, it was found that campylobacter diarrhea occurred less often in babies whose mother’s milk contained high levels of 2’-FL. “In the meantime, mechanistic studies shed further light on this observation as 2’-FL’s molecular structure renders it able to act as a decoy receptor for pathogens, preventing the adhesion to the host cells – the first step of infections,” Rüdenauer explains.

Understanding digestive health
Digestive health and particularly the connection between gut, microbiome and brain is one of the most cutting-edge areas of life science research at the moment, according to Rüdenauer. Only recently have scientists started to better understand the gut-microbiome-brain axes and how the two-way communication between gut and brain may positively influence digestive and overall well-being. 

The evidence for specific bacterial metabolites having a positive impact on overall health is growing rapidly. Studies show the clinical relevance of deviations from a “healthy” microbiota, with examples including dysbiosis preceding allergic diseases, metabolic syndrome or obesity, he notes.

“This raises the question of how to best promote colonization and development of probiotics in the intestinal mucosa. Therefore, we see a significant opportunity in identifying tailor-made, specific prebiotics that can have a predictable effect on shaping the microbiota and thus convey health benefits,” Rüdenauer concludes.

By Kristiana Lalou